1427 What to do When You Hate Your Job

Today we are talking about what to do when you hate your job. One of things that I find really sad about the state of the world today is the overwhelming number of people out there who are so desperately unhappy in their work because, let’s face it – we spend most of our waking hours at our jobs. And if we’re not happy in our work, then that has a huge impact on every other aspect of our lives. We’re drained. We’re disillusioned. We’re short-tempered. And we’re desperate. Because we know it’s not meant to be like this. We know that there has to be something more to life than this. And it’s soul-crushing to think that you’re trapped in a situation that you can’t escape from.

Now, the obvious answer here is: leave the job you hate and go do something you like. But really, it’s not that simple, is it? One of the comments I got following one of last week’s blog articles on following your passion was from a recruiter, who said that the reason a lot of people don’t like hearing about “following your passion” is because they’ve been in the same type of job for so long that they’ve become an expert, but they’re not really inspired about what they’re doing and don’t really enjoy it, but they can’t leave their existing jobs because of financial considerations. It’s just too risky to leave a job where you’ve got some seniority, only to start at the bottom of the ladder in another field. So when people hear about this whole “follow your passion” bit and going and doing something different, what they feel, instead of inspiration, is anger. Because they feel trapped. They don’t believe that it is even remotely possible anymore for them to have a career they can feel passionate about.

But I can’t leave my job!

And I get this. I really do. It’s hard to even contemplate leaving a job with a steady paycheck in order to take a risk on an unknown. How do you make a career change when you’ve spent years (or decades) working in the same field? Especially when you’ve got other responsibilities, like kids and a mortgage to consider? I mean, let’s be realistic here, you can’t really just give all that up, quit your current day-job so you can do what you love! So you either stay stuck where you are, doing something you hate, and feeling your soul wither with every passing day, or you jump of that ledge and hope you sprout wings before you hit bottom. Yep. You really are stuck between a rock and hard place, aren’t you?

But what if it doesn’t have to be like that? What if you can have it both ways? What if it really is possible to have your cake and eat it, too? What if you can keep that steady paycheck from a job you hate, while still finding ways to start creating the life you most want for yourself? Why do we build these things up into such huge, traumatic, either/or scenarios? Why burn bridges unless you have to?

You don’t need to burn your bridges

Now, there are some big names out there in the motivational field who’d tell you that that’s exactly what you need to do: burn those suckers down, quit your job and take the leap. Because you’re only going to make the big changes in your life if you have to; if there’s no turning back and you have no other choice but to succeed or basically die trying. They’re all about using pain as an incentive for changes. But, while there is some truth to the idea that great accomplishments are born of great necessity, I always think back to a self-defence course I took in Univeristy where the motto, rather than “No pain, no gain” was “No pain, no pain”. I’m just not a pain person. I don’t believe in pain for the sake of pain. And I happen to that think security is a good thing. So my view of the matter is, unless you’re so miserable where you are that you can’t stand it anymore, then keep the crappy job (for now) because it pays the bills and keeps a roof over your head and food on the table while giving you the means and cushion to create what you do want without fear.

A shift in perspective

There’s a real mindset shift that has to occur in this kind of situation; you have to wrap your head around this and stop viewing your current job as this big crushing block that’s keeping you tied down. Some of the worst mental health problems we have in life are spawned by that horrible feeling of being trapped. No creature likes to be trapped; we will fight it with everything we have. And if you view your job as something that is keeping you caged and preventing you from having what you really want in life, it is going to destroy you from the inside out; it is going to suck up every ounce of energy you have into a never-ending vortex of misery. You MUST change your perspective on this if you’re ever going to be able to do anything about it. You have got to change the way you look at that job.

If you can shift that perspective and start looking at your job as an opportunity or a stepping stone to greater things then it’s no longer a trap. It’s just something you’re doing for the time being, while knowing full well that’s it’s a temporary situation. There is a huge energy shift that happens when you make that mindset change. And with that shift, comes a great gift: you find the inner resources necessary to start working towards your real passion in any way that you can, in whatever time you can find. Your current job becomes a tool to help you build your greater vision. And you find new reserves of determination and optimism and creativity that you never had before. That you couldn’t have before because you were so damned miserable.

Change your thoughts, change your world!

Here’s the key thing: you don’t have to quit your day-job to start working towards something you really want. That will come in time if that’s what you really want, but for now that job is a building block! And if you know what you want, then you can use your current job as leverage to help you get it. It gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your basic necessities, and even your creature comforts, are taken care of while you work towards the bigger goal. Want to start your own business? You can use some of the income from that job of yours to pay for an online or night course in marketing, accounting, business basics, or how to create your own website. Craving a more creative line of work? Eat your lunch away from the office gossip and pool and use the time to work on your novel, write your screenplay, do some sketches or jot some notes for your next masterpiece. You can even use that annoying commute time to your advantage and enjoy the extra time it gives you to read or listen to books that will either inspire you to keep going, or provide you with useful information that will help you build what you want even more efficiently.

Shift your perspective. That job you hate is only a trap if you allow it to be. Why not use it to your advantage instead? Start looking at it as the tool it could be, and I promise you you’ll start to notice a difference.

Dream. Believe. Achieve.

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8 Comments

A.
on August 1, 2014 at 9:48 am

OMG, so timely! “Inspire you to keep going”- this is really the name of the game, isn’t it?

I was going to ask how we can keep bad thoughts/memories from torturing us at times. When I am in gratitude and focused only on the positive, things are and flow so well1 but, when I shift to bad thoughts and cause me to clench my heart, well then things do not go well. How can we focus more on the positive? It is hard for some of us.

Thank you for all the reminders on how to view something. It is really all it is, right? I need to be reminded, because I stray, as you can see. I know it is normal, but I do not like this habit and would like to be more positive and happy overall.

When I start getting stuck in bad thoughts and memories, I have a bunch of “vibe-shifters” that I use to bring myself back up. I have a few iTunes playlists with songs that make me happy or remind of stuff that’s important to me, I have a collection of quotes that I refer to when I need a boost, and I go favourite visit web sites that I know from experience post content that’s going to inspire me. Like attracts like, so I like to head off those bad-feeling thoughts before they pick up too much steam.

A.
on August 6, 2014 at 1:34 pm

Nathalie,

Speaking about not burning bridges, how about when a recruiter contacts you about a great job, but you are still taking exams for licensure and are not done yet and it will take a while? How best to respond to the recruiter? How to approach the situation well and wisely and energetically? Please respond to this one. Thank you!

A.
on August 6, 2014 at 1:36 pm

P.S.- He contacted out of the blue, when one is not actively looking for a job. It is the best way to happen,. right? Or maybe in LOA there is no best way- just the way you feel best about or the best way things go smoothly?

Ooooo! Sounds like things are starting to happen for you! Is this a recruiter for the field you’re trying to get into? If it’s a field where licensing is required, then you’ll want to be upfront about the fact that you are still taking exams. It may be that the interested party can hire you temporarily in a lower position that doesn’t require full licensing until you get your paperwork in place. Or they may want to hire you on the condition that your license is received within a certain timeframe. Any number of possibilities here. Before responding to the recruiter, get yourself into a really good place energetically. Focus on what an ideal solution would feel like to you, and get yourself stable in that feeling before talking to him, if at all possible. Good luck! 🙂

A.
on August 7, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Thank you, Nathalie. Yes, it is in the same field and I will ask the pertinent questions when I feel it right. I am raising my vibe and will respond soon.

I am so overwhelmed with these exams. The topics are so many and they can ask anything. I stopped crying about them, which is a step in the right direction and I’ve got family who are so exasperated with me because I am taking so long, but I am telling you, I am following my Inner Being. It never lets me down so for once I am trusting it completely and following it. It is not like they are taking these exams, you know, so why I am exasperating them, I have no idea. I understand they want what is best for me, but rushing through something just won’t do in this case. I know people rush from one thing to the next, and if they do not pass they go on to another career, but I do not want that. I do not feel like they do and that life is passing me by.

I know I jump a bit from topic to topic, but it is all based practically on one topic, is it not? It is all intertwined.

I know the book you just got out is not the one you are working on, but already from the first section I know what you are saying. People do react to things instead of being in control at the wheel of their life.

And that is the heart of everything right there: everything is intertwined. All is connected.

Life is not passing you by, life is the journey; the experience. And your journey doesn’t have to be the same as someone else’s. It’s good that you’re no longer worrying about that; this is your life and you are the one who gets to decide what you’re going to do with it.

Glad you’re finding the book useful so far! If you have a moment when you’ve finished it, I would love it if you left an honest review on Amazon — it helps other people know what to expect if they’re thinking about buying it themselves. 🙂